Wentworth D'Arcy Uhr (31 October 1845 – 18 February 1907) was an officer in the paramilitary Native Police in the British colony of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. After being demoted for poor conduct, he resigned from this force and became a drover, leading the first herds of cattle into the region now known as the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. He later became, amongst other vocations, a gold prospector, butcher and hotelier. Throughout his life, Uhr actively engaged in multiple incidents of frontier violence including several massacres of Aboriginals. He was also the subject of numerous court cases defending charges which ranged from murder and assault to race-fixing and fraud. In later life he moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and became a business partner with Charles Kidman, brother of the famous

pastoralist Pastoralist may refer to: * Pastoralism, raising livestock on natural pastures * Pastoral farming, settled farmers who grow crops to feed their livestock * People who keep or raise sheep, sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the r ...

, Sidney Kidman.

Early life

Wentworth D'Arcy Uhr was born at Wivenhoe station on the upper reaches of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

on 31 October 1845. His father was Edmund Blucher Uhr, a

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

who had previously set up runs for prominent colonist Richard Jones at

Patrick's Plains Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney, and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of Newcastle. At June 2018, Singleton had an urban popul ...

, Liverpool Plains and at Tent Hill. Conflict with Aboriginals defending the usurpation of their lands led to the death of Wentworth's uncle, John Uhr, and, despite subsequent extrajudicial killings of local Aboriginals, the family were forced to move to the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the colony. After setting up a pastoral run at Mundooya, they settled at the township of Maryborough where Wentworth's father became a magistrate and the proprietor of a boiling down establishment.

Native Police

As a magistrate, Wentworth's father Edmund B. Uhr had frequent interaction with the Native Police. This force was a government funded paramilitary corps designed to brutally suppress Aboriginals who resisted British occupation. Edmund later requested that the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

provide a position for his son in the Native Police and Wentworth was appointed as an Acting sub-Inspector in 1865. Wentworth's brother, Reginald Charles Uhr, was already an officer in this force, directing "dispersals of blacks" around

Bowen Bowen may refer to: Places Australia * Bowen, Queensland, a town * Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb ** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills ** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills * Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...

and

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. Wentworth D'arcy Uhr's first major duty in the Native Police was to provide an armed escort for the expedition of

William Landsborough William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early ...

to the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

in 1866. They arrived at Burketown in April to find the settlement in an epidemic of fever and went over to nearby

Bentinck Island Bentinck Island is a small island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island in Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada near Race Rocks. It served as a leper colony beginning in 1924, when the federal government shut d ...

and

Sweers Island Sweers Island is an island in the South Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. Privately owned via a perpetual lease and with the only residents being the owners and workers at the resort, the island is within the ...

to avoid illness. At Sweers Island, Uhr and his troopers shot several of the local people. Returning to Burketown in June, Uhr was soon ordered to conduct a long distance pursuit to arrest several horse thieves, a journey which took him 1500 miles into north-west

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In 1868, Uhr and his troopers conducted three major massacres of Aboriginals in the Gulf area. The first at the

McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the are ...

, the second just south of Burketown, and the third near the Norman River. Around a hundred people were killed and according to a newspaper correspondent, the Burketown residents were "delighted with the wholesale slaughter". Dr

Henry Challinor Henry Challinor (22 June 1814 – 9 September 1882) was a physician and politician in the Colony of Queensland. Early life Challinor was born in London, England. Studying medicine in London, where he became a member of the Royal College of Sur ...

, one of the few Queensland politicians who was consistently opposed to the ruthless methods of the Native Police, led calls for an inquiry. Uhr was demoted and forced to travel to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and front an investigation into the massacres. He received the support of family, the media and the government and he was exonerated of any wrongdoing. He returned to Burketown but quit the Native Police in 1869. Uhr remained in Burketown as a private citizen but continued to be a controversial figure. During the years 1870 and 1871, he became involved in legal disputes with William Landsborough and other officials, and was accused of kidnapping Aboriginal children. In a separate incident, Uhr was arrested for the murder of an Aboriginal man at Dalgonally station south of Normanton. His hearing was postponed and he was eventually acquitted by local magistrates.

Droving

In 1872, Uhr was contracted by Mathew Dillon Cox to help guide and drive his herds of cattle from

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

to the frontier region around

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

in the

in what was the first cattle drive along the Gulf-McArthur-Katherine route. The journey involved transgressing through the lands of number of Aboriginal clans and four major incidents of violence occurred. The first was 100 miles west of Burketown where in response to a boomerang being thrown at one of Cox's men, local Aboriginals were shot at, rounded up and forced to provide hostages. The second occurred west of the

at a place called Calico Creek. Here, after spears were thrown, Uhr and his colleagues opened up into sustained rifle-fire. After the Aboriginals retreated, the drovers rode up and down the creek, burning a village and its contents. In a separate incident, the droving group took Aboriginal children from another clan. Later, at the Wickham River 50 miles from the Roper River, a "regular pitched battle" took place where after their horses were speared, Uhr "ordered every man to arms...and made them fire by files". After half an hour of "continuous rattle of rifle shots" where "each man took deliberate aim", the Aboriginal people targeted had "fearful proofs in the numbers of their comrades who writhed or lay forever motionless". In September the group arrived at a British supply depot on the Roper River. While here, Cox and Uhr had a disagreement which resulted in Uhr knocking down Cox and pulling out a large handful of his hair. As there were magistrates posted at the Roper depot, Cox officially charged Uhr with assault in what was the first known court proceeding in that area of the

William Bloomfield Douglas William Bloomfield Douglas (25 September 1822 – 5 March 1906), generally known as "Bloomfield Douglas" or "Captain Douglas", was a Welsh people, Welsh naval officer and public servant. During his career, he served in various positions in South ...

presided over the case and it was settled when Uhr agreed to an immediate dismissal from his position on the condition that Cox supplied him with provisions to head to the new gold diggings around Port Darwin.

Gold prospecting

After taking his leave of Cox's droving party, Uhr became a gold prospector and became the first to lodge a claim at the Pine Creek goldfields in 1872.

Butcher at Palmer River

By 1875, Uhr followed the gold rushes back to Northern Queensland and became a butcher at the

Palmer River Goldfields The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

selling fresh meat to the diggers. He set up a store at Uhr's Camp between Maytown and Byerstown. There was frequent violence between the miners and the local Aboriginals who were forcibly displaced from their homes. Uhr, again, became involved at the forefront of these skirmishes. After a Chinese miner was killed by Aboriginals, Uhr organised an armed posse to track down and collectively punish Aboriginals in the area. They found an encampment to attack and despite "hard fighting" with

breechloader A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

s and

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

s, they were forced to retreat. Uhr later wrote an open letter demanding a large contingent of Native Police to be based on the

Palmer River The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

to destroy Aboriginal resistance in the area. In early 1876, the request was granted and Inspector Townsend and his troopers were sent to the region.

Return to Northern Territory

Uhr remained in northern Queensland until 1880 when he returned to the

undertaking further droving and prospecting work. In 1883, he was again at the

guiding overlanders across the stock route. Here, a group of Aboriginals killed several of his horses and a white man named Fraser. Uhr, with the assistance of stockmen travelling in the area with Nathaniel Buchanan, "followed up the blacks" to a camp 10 miles from the river. Here he conducted a massacre, the results of which so disturbed Donald Swan of Nat Buchanan's group that only death threats against Swan prevented him from reporting it to authorities. Uhr resided around Palmerston and Pine Creek, establishing pubs, butchering businesses, pastoral runs and investing in mining leases. He was publicly supportive of mounted police massacres of Aboriginals resisting colonisation and he was also active in anti-Chinese immigration organisations. Uhr himself led further

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

raids of Aboriginal people on the Mary River and

Goyder River The Goyder River is a river in the Northern Territory, Australia. Description The headwaters of the river rise at the base of the Mitchell Ranges and are fed by spring discharge from an extensive dolomite aquifer that supports areas of rainf ...

. He was involved in several legal proceedings and won damages in 1885 to the value of 3,000 Pounds sterling after a wrongful arrest for cattle theft.

Coolgardie

Uhr left the

in late 1888 and for the next several years he lived in the more southern states, droving in

and operating hotels in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. In 1894 he once more followed the

Australian gold rush During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of Ne ...

and the town of Coolgardie. Here he went into a butchering partnership with Charles Nunn Kidman, brother of the famous pastoralist, Sidney Kidman. Later he formed the company Butcher and Uhr, which was involved in expanding into pastoral development. Uhr went on expeditions to acquire land in the Laverton region and at

Mount Margaret Mount Margaret was an abandoned town located northeast of Perth and southwest of Laverton in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The first European to visit the area was government surveyor John Forrest who passed throug ...

Uhr led a

attack on the local Aboriginals. He was involved in the local horse racing industry and became embroiled in illegal betting syndicates. Uhr died at Coolgardie in 1907 and was given a lavish public funeral. He was married twice, firstly to Jane Hayes in 1872 and then to Essie Thompson in 1885. As he had not separated from Hayes, Uhr was in a situation of

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

until 1887 when Hayes died. His grandson, Clive Uhr, would become a noted

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...

and

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhr, Wentworth D'Arcy 1845 births 1907 deaths People from Wivenhoe Australian gold prospectors Australian police officers